Market Profile of Japan |
| Home | US Trade Show | Site map | |
|
|
|
 |
Market Profile of Japan
Japan has a population of 128 million with a land area of 380,000 sq km. For Americans the best comparison, both in terms of terrain and population, might be to New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and all of New England, minus Maine. Another important measure of a country’s size is its productive power, or GNP (Gross National Product), which is the multiple of its exploited resources, its population, and, most important, their skills. In this category Japan is one of the giants, ranking number two in the world, only behind the United States. Japan’s current GNP amounts to approximately $5 trillion. The Japanese economy has been and still is in the prolonged business stagnation, and sales as a whole for the retail industry have been on a decline since their peak in 1997. While the consumer market can be expected to scale down for some time, there are still large business opportunities for foreign retailers when looking at the long-term perspective. Even now, Japan has the second largest economy in the world, and its retail sales are $10 trillion, second only to the U.S. Per capita consumer spending and retail sales are also among the highest in the world. A large middle class with a high average income is a characteristic of the Japanese market. Japanese consumers are very brand conscious, demanding high quality and design. However, they have a background of accepting and valuing quality products and quality stores. According to a survey “Investment in Japan” by JETRO, 668 foreign companies in Japan responded a question “What is the fascination of the Japanese market?” as follows.
|
|
 |
||
